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History

05-JUL-1844

first description of the cave by H. Methuen.

the first white farmer at Wonderwerk P. Bosman lived in the cave with family and afterwards used it as a cart-house and sheep shelter.

1940-1944

commercial exploitation of the site for bat guano by N.J. Bosman.

1940-1948

archaeological investigations by B.D. Malan.

1974-1977

excavations by K.W. Butzer.

1979

excavations by J.F. & A.I. Thackeray.

1978-2002

excavations by P.B. Beaumont.

1993

cave and surrounding land ceded to the McGregor Museum by the Bosman and Nieuwoudt families.

Description

The most interesting feature of Wonderwerk Cave are bushman paintings on
its walls, dating back 10,000 years.

The cave was used as shelter by the first white settlers, P. Bosman and his family lived in the cave for some time.
Later the bat guano of the cave was mined and used as fertilizer.
This exploitation destroyed vast amounts of sediments and its contents, but also
the found artifacts led to the first archaeological excavations.
Since 1940 numerous excavations took place in this cave, and they still go on.

The cave was privatly owned by the Bosman and Nieuwoudt families until 1993.
Because of the importance of the site, it was ceded to the McGregor
Museum which managed the scientific exploration.
The McGregor Museum establish a small museum at the site, which explains
the finds and their whereabouts.
The museum is part of a cave visit.

Today the cave is protected by an iron grid.
It is possible to visit the cave and the excavations, but there are no regular
tours.
Depending on the activities at the site, the archaeologists or the farmers at
the adjacent farm show the cave to visitors.

The cave is a karst cave, but from the speleologic point of view it is rather
dull.
A short passage with a single dripstone formation, a stalagmite two meters high.

The latest discovery in 2012 are ash and burnt bone samples ^which are interpreted as a sign of the use of fire.
The remains are about one Million years old and so this is the earliest account of man using fire.
Similar burnt bones have already been discovered in nearby Swartkrans cave.
The number of discoveries makes it more likely that they are a result of human action and not of natural causes like wildfires.
The remains of repeated fires burned 35m deep inside the cave were discovered, but there were no signs of fire preparation like a hearth or a pit.